Meta Achievements as a form of content in WoW are severely underutilized

[TheWorkingTitle]

While Achievements have permeated into virtually every form of content in WoW, many Meta sections of its system have been straight up abandoned or severely underutilized in their effectiveness over the years. This is for content already in-game that could receive so many types of rewards.

Take, for example, the last time these Meta Achievements have seen an update:


Fabulous: - Patch 7.0.3 - July 19, 2016

- This achievement requires you to collect 100 wrist/feet/waist/leg/hand/shoulder/chest/helm/wep/offhand, 200 cloak, and 15 tabard/shirt transmogs to earn the title "____ the Fabulous".



We were playing Warlords of Draenor when this came out. Over five years and not a single addition to this meta achievement!

How difficult is it to double the requirements and make an additional set of achievements/rewards? It's been so long you could triple or quadruple the requirements and people would still get it day 1.


Take those transmogs on the WoW shop and put them in-game as rewards for collecting 300/400/500/600 thresholds of Transmog appearances.

If some incredible armor/weapon sets, pets, mounts, titles, etc. are added to this, the entire transmog market will be incredibly stimulated. And that means way more people running dungeons, raids, pvp, etc. to farm, buy, and sell these items.



Azeroth's Next Top Model - Patch 7.2.0 - March 28, 2017

- This achievement requires you to collect 10 different raid tier armor sets or PvP season sets to earn the title "Stylist _____".


We were in the middle of Legion when this came out. Over four years and not a single update to this meta achievement!

I got this day 1 when it came out. I now have 62 out of 69 sets, and yet the requirement is still only 10. If there were great transmog rewards for having 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 sets, how many more dungeons and raids would be done? Raiding only Meta, PvP only Meta. All PvP sets from each expansion. Etc.



Awake the Drakes: Patch 6.0.2 - October 14, 2014

- This achievement requires you to collect the Azure Drake, Black Drake, Blue Drake, Purple Netherwing Drake, Twilight Drake, Bronze Drake, Blazing Drake, Onyxian Drake, Red Drake to earn the Emerald Drake.


We were playing Mists of Pandaria when this came out. Over seven years and not a single other mount meta achievement like this has been made since!

How difficult is it to create ones for Beasts, Mechanical, Underwater, etc.? Those WoW Shop mounts could easily be rewards for these new Meta achievements.



250,000 Honorable Kills: Patch 4.0.3 - November 23, 2010

- This achievement requires you to kill 250,000 enemy players to earn the title "____, the Bloodthirsty".


We were playing Wrath of the Lich King when this came out. Almost 11 years and not a single addition to this meta achievement!

This can be expanded to include similar achievements to the Garrison's Gladiator Sanctum system that required you to hundreds of each enemy race.


3000 Quests Completed: Patch 4.0.1 - October 12, 2010

- This achievement requires you to complete 3,000 quests to earn the title "_____ the Seeker".


We were playing playing Wrath of the Lich King when this came out. Over 11 years and not a single addition to this meta achievement.



You can go on and on.

- Toybox Tycoon (Toy collecting Meta) hasn't seen an update since July of 2018, the prepatch for Battle for Azeroth.

- Master of Minions (Pet collecting Meta) hasn't seen an update also since July of 2018, the prepatch for Battle for Azeroth.

- 100 Exalted Reputations (Reputation Meta) hasn't seen an update since -- you guessed it -- July of 2018, the prepatch for Battle for Azeroth.



There are so many ways to spruce up Achievements that would increase player retention and PvE/PvP participation. None of these Achievements being updated on their own would do much, but together, they'd create way more interest and participation in the content already in the game.


I'm sure I missed plenty of others. What do you think? Waste of time or does it have as much wasted potential as I think it does?

[Unlimited Power]

I would love if they expanded on all these.

Like you, I'm way past the requirements of the current collection achievements in every possible category and would love another reason to care about collecting new things beyond the transmogs, mounts, pets and toys themselves.

The problem with collecting transmog for me is knowing I'll likely never use the vast majority of old appearances for transmog on my characters anyway.

Why go collect the appearances in Molten Core or Blacking Lair when I'm already rocking significantly better looking appearances from Legion raids?

Pets at least have varying utility, as even similar looking pets can have wildly different skill sets.

Mounts are kinda in the same boat as transmog for me. Practically all mounts function the exact same, so why bother getting WoD boar recolour#10 when I'm already not using the previous 9 variations?

Collecting in WoW is, or at least used to be, ultimately a numbers game, but Blizzard hasn't updated the numbers of several categories for years now and it's frankly long overdue.

The irony is that Blizzard themselves certainly seems to be pushing collecting, whether it be mounts, pets, toys or transmog, as a preferred type of content to pursue for non-raiders and pvp-ers.

They stuff every new zone they create full of rares with rare mount drops, pets and toys but actively refuses to update the collection goals of those categories.

[Postmasters]

I'm not sure blizzard can be trusted with anymore. The last one they made was that horrific maw invasion one that took mo the and relied on broken untested quest NPCs.

[Sialina]

Rare post that I agree 100% with

Furthermore, blizzard could go rather crazy with these without having to worry too much about how hard they are to get.

The 100 exalted reps were pretty rough when they were introduced, but now we've got a bunch of additional reps and it's not that
hard anymore, come next expansion it'll be easy to get 100 exalted reps.

So you could have collect 500 toys, 600 mounts, all of that.

And like you said with transmog, having some meta achievements would likely get people out there collceting, especially if that set looked nice. I didn't collect much transmog at all but I could see myself doing a couple of old raids per week if it meant getting a cool meta mog eventually.

[Yossarian]

I have to largly, bigly, and hugely agree with this post.

As an achievement hunter so many have just never been updated and tbh a lot of the new ones feel designed just to waste time, but that could just be my cynical side talking.

couldn't agree more, with you and OP of course

I often feel like Blizz does the minimum effort for achievements, when they'd deserve much, much more attention

we have the same panel since 2008, they never reworked it in any way
we still have a "summary" section that doesn't show "expansion features"...

[TheWorkingTitle]

I have to largly, bigly, and hugely agree with this post.

As an achievement hunter so many have just never been updated and tbh a lot of the new ones feel designed just to waste time, but that could just be my cynical side talking.

I suppose with a game as large as WoW, certain things will inevitably become neglected. But when each of these Meta Achievements came out, I figured they'd all become staples going forward. Each new expansion would bring a new version of it. Instead, it's just arbitrary implementations of them and then they're abandoned. So much untapped potential there.

And I can't speak for the new ones, I haven't attempted any. What's different about them to you?

Like you, I'm way past the requirements of the current collection achievements in every possible category and would love another reason to care about collecting new things beyond the transmogs, mounts, pets and toys themselves.

Precisely how I look at these. It gives people of all skill levels something, I think.

The problem with collecting transmog for me is knowing I'll likely never use the vast majority of old appearances for transmog on my characters anyway.

That's exactly where the Meta ones come in. Yeah, you might not like or use Tier 1 or Tier 2, but if you collect Tier 1 through 20 there could be some amazing class-specific transmog waiting for you.

Mounts are kinda in the same boat as transmog for me. Practically all mounts function the exact same, so why bother getting WoD boar recolour#10 when I'm already not using the previous 9 variations?

Just another goal for the overachiever in you. If you do get that WoD boar recolor #10, you'll complete your Beast Mount Meta Achievement that awards some unique Beast themed mount.

The irony is that Blizzard themselves certainly seems to be pushing collecting, whether it be mounts, pets, toys or transmog, as a preferred type of content to pursue for non-raiders and pvp-ers.

They stuff every new zone they create full of rares with rare mount drops, pets and toys but actively refuses to update the collection goals of those categories.

Great point. This is literally right down their alley. And it's primarily just art assets that need to be done. Through my layman lens, this is as easy of a win as it gets for them.

Furthermore, blizzard could go rather crazy with these without having to worry too much about how hard they are to get.

The 100 exalted reps were pretty rough when they were introduced, but now we've got a bunch of additional reps and it's not that
hard anymore, come next expansion it'll be easy to get 100 exalted reps.

So you could have collect 500 toys, 600 mounts, all of that.

And like you said with transmog, having some meta achievements would likely get people out there collceting, especially if that set looked nice. I didn't collect much transmog at all but I could see myself doing a couple of old raids per week if it meant getting a cool meta mog eventually.

Exactly. They need to be overshooting with these Meta thresholds, not under.

And how you feel about the Meta rewards is precisely what I was going for with this. That's a huge net positive if the Meta rewards got you to run a bunch of old raids again where you might not ever have otherwise. Lots of player engagement potential.

I often feel like Blizz does the minimum for achievements, when they'd deserve much, much more attention

we have the same panel since 2008, they never reworked it in any way
we still have a "summary" section that doesn't show "expansion features"...

Achievements are like a dilapidated beach right now. Plenty of potential that requires some TLC.

The way the Ulduar achievements were added to the Legacy section is cringe-inducing.

[Sentynel]

The achievement system as a whole is underutilized. They could do so much more with it, but refuse to do so for some reason.

[kranur]

Sure does have potential but it feels like their focus is to just add whatever there without actually giving a thought and be like "Screw you, we added something".

[Redwyrm]

They could also do more with tying achievements and professions together. Professions could use a lot of love and having achievements related to profession milestones would infuse a bunch of interest in them. Which could result in the profession market getting a boost from all the achievement hunters leveling professions and crafting items.

[DechCJC]

Agreed, as a further note it’s infuriating just how unnecessarily difficult some achievements are to get now due to changing times, yet there’s no real update.

Have any of you tried defending 50 towers in AV lately? Dear lord. A simple fix to this achievement is to give credit to all in the local area when the tower is defended, not just to the one capping it.

I have had the bloodthirsty since 2015, I’m a multi glad, enjoy my fair share of PvP and I am an achievement Hunter with over 33k points.

I have defended 2/50 towers.

There are many, many achievements that make me want to rip my eyeballs out in the same way.

Another one that comes to mind is the dance achievement on the last boss in mogu’shan vaults. You need 10 people that are interested in it to come in to the raid and do it flawlessly all while praying that someone doesn’t accidentally one shot the boss with some proc we forgot about. Awful. It’s not even part of a meta achievement.

[TheWorkingTitle]

They could also do more with tying achievements and professions together. Professions could use a lot of love and having achievements related to profession milestones would infuse a bunch of interest in them. Which could result in the profession market getting a boost from all the achievement hunters leveling professions and crafting items.

Fantastic point. Those Metas are all abandoned too now that you mention it. Collect X amount of recipes and such. And they don't even have reward structures.

- - - Updated - - -

Agreed, as a further note it’s infuriating just how unnecessarily difficult some achievements are to get now due to changing times, yet there’s no real update.

Have any of you tried defending 50 towers in AV lately? Dear lord. A simple fix to this achievement is to give credit to all in the local area when the tower is defended, not just to the one capping it.

Definitely another huge issue that needs a deep dive of updates. I have been stuck on the "The red wire, no, the blue wire!" achievement from Isle of Conquest for years and years, and it's all I need for the Khan meta.

There's a few PvP ones that are nearly impossible now.

[Therougetitan]

Big agree. Having simple rewards like toys, cosmetics, pets and mounts as meta achieve rewards helps provide incentive to do content. More is better.

[TheWorkingTitle]

Big agree. Having simple rewards like toys, cosmetics, pets and mounts as meta achieve rewards helps provide incentive to do content. More is better.

Absolutely. I think this is a bare minimum request at this point though. It's been over a decade for some of these Meta Achievements. That's absurd with how little work is required.

[Femininity]

Post of rare quality. I'd probably resub to see my collection achievements pop, despite not currently supporting Blizzard at all at the moment.

[Djuntas]

I have to largly, bigly, and hugely agree with this post.

As an achievement hunter so many have just never been updated and tbh a lot of the new ones feel designed just to waste time, but that could just be my cynical side talking.

It isnt, trust me, as a heavy collector must achievements made since WOD are just huge time sinks with little or no point. In fact tons of grinds keeps being added to game that is horrific to do, purely RNG based etc.

OP...We haven't even gotten a 500 mount achievement, and most collectors had for the so long time. Im on 610 now, and I dont have a lot of mounts...I really dont.

[Hellobolis]

there is a quest/exploration meta achievement for outdoor content every patch.
there is a meta achievement for raid achievements every patch.
both of these usually give a mount as reward.

most game features like brawlers guild or pet battles have something similar. doesn't strike me as underused.

i generally wouldn't consider completing 3000 quest, 400 mounts, 60 tmog sets, 100k honor kills, etc as meta achievements. those are just doing 1 thing but account wide, the "real" meta achievements are a reward for doing various minor achievements within a category.

and while i wouldn't mind further milestone achievements for those fill up the bar type achievements, i also understand they might come across as too daunting for people who haven't been playing nonstop for 2 decades.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Meta Achievements as a form of content in WoW are severely underutilized

Maybe they're fun if you have no life, but for those of us who actually have one outside of video games, meta achievement grinds are terrible, as I painfully learned from GW2.

[Unlimited Power]

there is a quest/exploration meta achievement for outdoor content every patch.
there is a meta achievement for raid achievements every patch.
both of these usually give a mount as reward.

most game features like brawlers guild or pet battles have something similar. doesn't strike me as underused.

i generally wouldn't consider completing 3000 quest, 400 mounts, 60 tmog sets, 100k honor kills, etc as meta achievements. those are just doing 1 thing but account wide, the "real" meta achievements are a reward for doing various minor achievements within a category.

and while i wouldn't mind further milestone achievements for those fill up the bar type achievements, i also understand they might come across as too daunting for people who haven't been playing nonstop for 2 decades.

That didn't stop Blizzard from implementing an achievement with a 100% unique mount model for reaching honor level 500 in patch 8.0.

Back then, players couldn't even see the mounts rewarded from honor levels in the mount journal until it's earned, so new players would have no idea unless they specifically looked it up. At least that's been changed since.

[dope_danny]

But how do they sell WoW tokens like ahead of the curve?

[Beet]

This thread raises good points. Achievements were actually a big part of the game for many of us in Wrath and Cata. They started slacking a few expansions later but now it’s like they’ve just abandoned it. My guess is it comes down to the devs working there weren’t there when these were added so they don’t even think about continuing them.